Renaissance Nouveau
by AthenaSnape
Summary: The muggle studies professor, an young American muggle, begins a Shakespeare unit with her class but informs them she will have to be gone for two weeks during the extended unit. Guess who fills in for her? Yep, Severus Snape. Plans for love. SSOFC
1. The Unfortunate Announcement

Disclaimer: All you see that is familiar to you is either owned by J.K. Rowling or Shakespeare. I'm just a poor lowly paper shuffler.

Chapter One—The Unfortunate Announcement 

"Good Afternoon, class."

"Good Afternoon, Ms. Allen," chimed the muggle studies students with genuine smiles. They looked to the teacher they had come to admire and respect in her two years as the muggle studies professor. Ms. Allen was from America and preferred being called Ms. Verses Professor or Doctor as her Double Doctorate in Biochemistry and British Literature would require. In her eyes, the title made her sound like an old stuck up prude, and thus the just 28-year-old professor, having outgrown the title Miss, (but just barely) decided Ms. was the most fitting. Thus, her students went against the traditions of Hogwarts and within her classroom called her Ms. Allen.

The students liked that Professor Allen didn't look her age and that she was just as mischievous when it came to rule breaking as the Golden Trio of Gryffindor. Her short, spiky, red hair was a perfect complement to her personality and gave her otherwise young, but wise and intelligent features a bit of flare. The designer frames on her glasses and fashionable robes helped a bit too. Though she was average height and a bit overweight, she carried herself with confidence and had the ability to light up every room she entered, except perhaps in the dungeons, even more so than the twinkling headmaster. As her students looked to her, anticipation on their cheery faces, she began class.

"As with every class I have a few announcements to make to start us off. First, I have finished reviewing your poetry portfolios and have made a collection of the poems with the most power behind the words. The collection has been edited and published along with a few of my own works. The original leather bound version is up for use in the library for all students and faculty. As a special surprise, I had Professor Flitwick duplicate copies for each of you. You will find that every one of you have at least one poem present in the collection. I am very proud of you all. The headmaster is currently reading the library copy and is considering making poetry a requirement of all Hogwarts students on the basis that the words conjure magic in a more emotional way," Professor Allen's eyes sparkled with a familiar mischief. "Yes, I am aware of what some of you must be thinking, and it's true, I am a muggle after all. I may not be able to use a wand to light my classroom, but I can provoke emotional magic in words. There have been many muggles throughout the centuries with this ability. They come from all parts of the world and have written and spoke in many different languages, but the concepts and feelings the words picture are so universal that they can be felt. Just as I imagine magic feels when you call upon it."

"Enough of my rambling. Because you all did so well using your own words to convey universal themes in poetry, our next unit we will look to possibly the most famous English speaking muggle writer/actor/poet/playwright/director/businessman who ever put words in ink. Is anyone familiar with the man called William Shakespeare?" Not surprisingly only one hand shot up. "Yes, Miss Granger. Could you tell us a bit of what you know?"

"He is very famous for writing a large number of plays and sonnets. He lived during the beginning of Queen Elizabeth the First's reign in England. He reflected on political life in his plays along with very universal themes. The universality and the history shown in the plays, along with the creation of new words, are some of the reasons so many people still read, understand, and at least appreciate his works. My favorite play is _A Winter's Tale_, and my favorite sonnet is number 116."

"Ah,

_Let me not to the marriage of true minds_

_Admit impediments. Love is not love_

_Which alters when it alteration finds_

_Or bends with the remover to remove:_

_O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,_

_That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;_

_It is the star to every wandering bark; _

_Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken._

_Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks_

_Within his bending sickle's compass come; _

_Love alter not with his brief hours and weeks,_

_But bears it out even to the edge of doom._

_If this be error, and upon me prov'd,_

_I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd. _

That is one of my favorites also. For who can love completely a person of lesser mind even if the person is astoundingly beautiful. That love tends to be fickle and fades as beauty fades. And then your namesake in _A Winter's Tale_ is a queen. A very intelligent queen."

"Yes, the play is actually how I came to be given the name Hermione. Mom was reading _A Winter's Tale_ out loud while she was pregnant with me."

"How lovely. The name quite suits you. The original Hermione was Helen of Troy's very brilliant sister."

"Thank you, Ms. Allen."

"As usual, our esteemed Miss Granger is correct on all counts. 'Well said, Hermione.' Twenty points to Gryffindor! Mr. Shakespeare, or Willy the Bard as I like to call him, was one of many writers to create words to use when the current vernacular of the time didn't have quite the right word for the specific image or emotion his was trying to convey. Because of his accomplishments in word generation, the English language gained over 10,000 words, some say over 20,000, that didn't exist before him—at least in English. My first name's modern spelling was first used in Will's play _The Merchant of Venice_. He combined two Hebrew names from _The Bible_ that looked nothing like Jessica alone, but together they created the vowel sounds in the name. He wanted an original name that sounded Jewish, and so Jessica became Shylock's daughter who ran away from home to be with her true love. And his words were not only about love. In fact, even more than the romanticism of Shakespeare's Middle English, the insults and fight scenes are very entertaining, once you can decipher the meanings. We will get the opportunity to see some of everything, as we will be doing a whole term full of Shakespeare." Not unexpected, groans came from a few of the students, specifically the few pureblood Slytherins.

"I have chosen to do this extended unit because I feel Shakespeare will challenge you to understand a culture that many of you consider so backwards compared to your own. You will see that life in the muggle Elizabethan Age, or Renaissance, was not so different from what you have here in the wizarding world right now. You will see that many ideas, themes, situations, and emotions are spot on to those you experience in everyday life. The characters in the plays could be the friends sitting right beside you."

"Over the term we will do a survey of his works. I have chosen one comedy, one tragedy, one history, and all of his sonnets for us to study and learn from together. By the end of term I expect to have you speaking like the Bard. And so, while we read our first Shakespearean play, your assignment for each class will be to create your own Shakespearean insult and use it in conversation during the week. Professor Flitwick has helped me by creating a charm that will keep track of your insults in a book and the specific time in which you use it. When we move to the comedy we will focus on romantic language, and during the tragedy the language of regret. Finally, while we study the Shakespearean sonnets, you will be focusing on writing your own plays and using sonnets within your plays to emphasis important pieces of the story." The professor looked to her audience and took a deep breath.

"And lastly but also unfortunately, I have one last announcement I'm afraid you aren't going to take too kindly." Professor Allen shrugged her shoulders in apology, "As you know, I am an expert in the field of muggle literature. Shakespeare and the age of the Renaissance is my specialty." She grinned, "That and I am an amazingly creative speaker. Because of this, I am usually looked to, to perform and speak at major Renaissance Festivals. The biggest festival, one joint between the magical and muggle communities, is coming up very soon. We will only be about half way into _Henry IV_ before I need to leave you for about two weeks."

"I expect you to treat the professor that comes in to help you with the same respect you show me. The professor filling in for me was forced by the headmaster to do so, so I really would appreciate you to give him the benefit of the doubt. He already is an expert in insults and will pick up on the Shakespearean form quite readily. He has read all of Shakespeare's works and is reviewing the plays for class as we speak, so don't try to pull anything over on him. While he will be helping you with the history play, his forte is actually tragedy. If all goes well, he may come back at the end of term to help us with _King Lear_. Any guesses as to who is filling in?"

"Please tell say it isn't Professor Snape," whimpered Neville obviously noticing the professor's not so subtle hints. Professor Allen gave him a weak smile, but effectively holding back a giggle she replied with much sarcasm,

"Well, that _is _why I started with _unfortunately_." Moans encompassed the classroom as the students realized what the cynicism in her statement meant. Professor Snape was going to be teaching them Shakespeare, and helping them with Shakespearean insults.

"Do you have to go, Ms. Allen?" whined a justly reluctant Harry Potter.

"Please don't make us have an extra eight hours with Snape, Professor. Please, I'll do anything," cried Neville.

With the mischief back in her eyes, Professor Allen raised her eyebrows and rubbed her chin in thought, as if contemplating what Neville could do. But then with the mischief still in her eyes, she shook her head,

"Sorry, kid. What can I say? I'm irreplaceable." With her focus back on the class as a whole she gave out the assignment, "For Thursday I want you all to use this Insult Generation Guide to create your first Shakespearean insult. Use it in conversation and we will look through them all in class Thursday. Also read over Shakespeare's biography and the section about the Renaissance of the muggle world in your history texts." The students began to gather their things and leave the classroom. "Oh, and one last thing." Everyone sighed in exasperation. "Really, I promise this time. The headmaster and the rest of the faculty are aware of your assignment. Please refrain from disrupting any classes or using insults to any member of the staff. Points will be taken for those who are disobedient. That's all folks! Until Thursday."


	2. Perhaps Chivalry Isn't Dead

Disclaimer: All you see that is familiar to you is either owned by J.K. Rowling or Shakespeare. I'm just a poor lowly paper shuffler.

Chapter 2—Perhaps Chivalry Isn't Dead

Draco Malfoy made his way up the moving stairways of Hogwarts to the Hufflepuff floor where the muggle studies classroom was located. As usual, he appeared cool and collected, even without his bodyguards, but he was nervous. He was a pureblood wizard who was required to take muggle studies but actually liked the class and this Shakespearean insults assignment was right up his alley. He had a dozen insults at the ready but hadn't been able to use them, because Slytherins weren't suppose to have anything to do with muggles and that included doing well on muggle studies homework. So far he'd muddled by, but he wanted to put himself into this unit. He enjoyed Shakespeare so far and he personally really liked Ms. Allen. If she was a good example of a muggle woman, Draco thought he might like them better even than the witches he knew. Of course, he couldn't act like he liked her in any way, and now he would disappoint his teacher yet again because he hadn't done his work and so no other Slytherin would either. Damn being a pureblood!

As he approached Ms. Allen's classroom, he saw Potter and Weasley chatting with Granger. The Weasel was eyeing Granger longingly and his hand began making its way toward her chest. Before Granger's attention was focused on what Weasley's hand was about to do, Draco decided to take action.

"Granger, you better watch it. A bawdy, fool-born barnacle is trying to break the wall that protects your maidenhead." Hermione slapped Ron's hand away and looked at him with her eyes full of fury. Within moments, Hermione's wrath had an audience of twenty some students standing in the Hufflepuff hall.

"RONALD WEASLEY! I THOUGHT WE'D BEEN THROUGH THIS YOU ROGUISH, COMMON-KISSING FLIRT-GILL! WE ARE JUST FRIENDS, AND WE WON'T EVEN BE THAT IF YOU KEEP THESE BEEF-WITTED MOVES UP!" Ron turned away to glare at Malfoy and in a challenging voice shouted,

"Thanks Malfoy! Just when I almost find heaven your droning, ill-breeding codpiece shows up! Why would a pureblood ferret like you want to protect the honor of a muggle-born anyway? What earth-vexing scheme have you come up with now?" With suspicion rising in his voice, Ron raised his wand. Draco raised his own wand and continued the insults with a trademark Slytherin smirk,

"For an artless, motley-minded horn-beast you honestly believe you could possibly touch a stunning, clever queen without so much as a compliment first? Your mind is full of weasel dun and you expect a lovely, wickedly brilliant maid to rut with your knotty-pated loins? What a joke?" Ron's face turned red as he began to understand the undercurrent subtly hiding beneath Malfoy's churlish words.

"So who is good enough for her? You? Ha, your mammering, yellow-livered food-trap wouldn't know what to do with our Gryffindor genius. _Ridikulus_!" Draco blocked the hex and quickly sent one of his own, which just missed Ron as he dove across the corridor. Before either of the dueling boys could shout out another hex, Harry and Hermione shouted, "_Petrificus Totalis_!" One charm hit Ron and the other Draco. Just as the crowd began to gather around the petrified boys, Professor Allen came into the hall.

"Well, it seems our Slytherin Head Boy has finally managed to finish a homework assignment. Miss Granger and Mr. Potter please end your magic." Professor Allen cut through the crowd and approached the boys crossing her arms when she stopped. Her apathic stance did nothing to comfort the boys. Instead it made her seem to tower above them. "So what do you two gentlemen have to say for yourselves?" Ron pointed at Draco and stammered,

"He . . . he . . . started it." Professor Allen's eyes rolled, as the sarcasm dripped in her reply,

"What a pleasantly mature response, Mr. Weasley. Do I look like I care who began this," she waved her hands in exasperation, "tom-foolery?" She held her right hand up as the boys began to respond, "The question was rhetorical. Fifty points from both your houses! Now! Get! In! class!"

The students made their way into her classroom astonished that their kind, popular professor could actually terrify them as much if not more as their venomous potions master when angry. Professor Allen waited for each student to enter. Hermione Granger, Head Girl, was last.

"Professor, thank you for being so impartial, but I think you should know that Malfoy was defending me from Ron's paws."

"Oh. A Slytherin defending a Gryffindor? Humm. Perhaps chivalry isn't dead. Thank you, Miss Granger. I'll keep that in mind."

Professor Allen began class by finding out what information her students found to add to their previous knowledge of Shakespeare. After some truly interesting discoveries, namely that Shakespeare had friends who were part of the wizarding world, and that he was rumored to have bedded one witch named Viola, who was forced to marry a count and move to America, the professor included the tidbits they hadn't mentioned.

Next, she reviewed some of the better insults that were used in conversation since the previous class. It seemed the Slytherins were actually doing their work, but it could be because they already tended to use the same bawdy language in private.

"Mr. Goyle's insult is rather intriguing. 'Professor Allen is nothing but a loose, dirty-blooded harpy.'" The Slytherins snickered at Goyle while the Gryffindors sat shocked that Professor Allen would even mention it. "Thirty points from Slytherin for that disrespect, Mr. Goyle. And Mr. Longbottom, though I imagine even Professor Snape would agree with your calling him a . . ." She looked down at her clipboard, "'Nefarious, venom-spilling demon,' the rules still apply. Thirty points from Gryffindor. And though the duel that came from the insults I continue to discourage, the insults themselves, particularly Mr. Malfoy's, were rather good. Ten point to Mr. Weasley and twenty to Mr. Malfoy. Oh, and Miss Granger's was also spot on. Ten points more to Gryffindor. Moving on . . . We are going to begin King Henry IV today. Any guesses to what the play is about? Put your hand down if you already started reading, please." Draco and Hermione's hands descended. "Okay, Mr. Finnegan. What is Henry IV going to be about?"

"Henry IV?"

"The obvious answer, right? Well, you're wrong in one. Henry IV is king during this play but he shows up very sporadically. He comes up often when speaking with his son. Who do you think King Henry IV's son is?"

"The prince."

"Obviously, Miss Parkinson. Any guesses to his name?"

"Henry."

"Good call, Mr. Zabini! Five points to Slytherin. Yes, there is a king Henry and a prince Henry in this play. The antagonist's name is Henry Percy, but lucky he is called Hotspur by most. Prince Henry is the protagonist, the most important character, and his friends call him Harry for the most part. We will only have time for Part I of Harry's journey to becoming king in this class, but you'll get the idea quick enough." Professor Allen passed out the playbooks and continued to speak.

"So to begin, each of you has at least one part in the play which you will be expected to act out for the rest of the class. Those of you with more than one part should notice that they are rather small parts and they do not overlap during the play. Professor Flitwick was kind enough to charm each of your playbooks to highlight your assigned part or parts. Well, let's open them up and get started.

After an hour of a first attempt at Shakespeare, about twenty seventh year minds were finding it hard to come back to reality, as they headed to their common rooms. Harry especially was having problems since he was reading the part of Prince Henry, also called Harry. There were already obvious similarities between himself and the fictional Harry. It was a shame that neither Harry could be _just_ Harry for life. Both seemed to have no choice in what the world held for them. They had to become a king or a savior. There was no time to be _just_ Harry. These similarities occupied Harry Potter up the staircases to the Gryffindor common room, where his real life Falstaff was devouring stolen treats and playing chess.

"So Harry, how's it feel to play yourself in Shakespeare?"

"You should know, Ron. If you weren't the picture of Falstaff, I'd eat my broom. I think Professor Allen chose the parts wisely. Even Hermione is Prince Harry's advisor, and Malfoy would have to be the clever antagonist. Ms. Allen definitely has a sense of humor about who we are. Too bad we can't have the same sense of humor for survivals sake." At that moment, Hermione walked into the common room and plopped her books down beside the table Ron was playing chess at. She listened intently to the boys noticing the seriousness of Harry's face.

"Yeah, well at least one class is a bit of fun, until Snape comes to teach it that is," Ron motioned as he took Collin Creevey's queen.

"Maybe it won't be so bad," Harry tried to sound convincing.

"It isn't as if we aren't used to Professor Snape's insults by now. Maybe with this Shakespeare unit we might see his insults in a more humorous light?" Hermione suggested out loud.

"Right, as if Snape has a sense of humor."

"It may not be the form of canary creams and toilet humor, but I think Snape is witty if you look from his perspective of things."

"Whatever you say Hermione. I still question his ability to be fun. Who knows."

"We will soon enough. Let's forget it for now."

"Good idea, Harry. Checkmate Collin!"


End file.
